Happy holidays, one and all! With Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay now in the rearview, and year-end lists percolating on every platform, it is that very special time of year where we look back on the music that made these past 365 days what they are. 2025 has been a year fraught with existential concerns in the music industry, be it the steady march of Artificial Intelligence sullying the mainstream, or the myriad moral and ethical quandaries raised against streaming platforms for inhumane and anti-consumer, anti-artist practices. There is no time more urgent than now to reiterate the inimitable power of human creativity, and here at How Lucky Media, we pledge to always honor the curated, handmade touch of real people with real music opinions. As such, we arrive once again at a seminal tradition – running down the very best albums of the year in a way that inherently invokes the human spirit.
Disclaimer: This is an editorialized Top 10 countdown. All opinions expressed are as they pertain to my particular tastes throughout the year. I listen to what I listen to, so if you don’t see an album featured that you were expecting, chances are either I didn’t listen, or it was simply bumped out of my bracket. But hey, this is my list. You’re more than welcome to tell me yours down in the comments. The albums featured are here for a combination of their artistic merit, as well as my own personal subjective enjoyment. Objectivity is a myth, and we’re here to have fun. And with that out of the way, why not dive right in, shall we? (The surfeit of quality was simply too massive to contain modestly, to the point where our Honorable Mentions could very well have comprised a list of their own.) Here’s a rundown of all the records absolutely worth your time, but unfortunately were simply bumped out by 2025’s worthiest entries.
Honorable Mentions:
- Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars
- Lucy Dacus – Forever is a Feeling
- The Wombats – Oh! The Ocean
- Nation of Language – Dance Called Memory
- Rocket – R is for Rocket
- The Hives – The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives
- Momma – Welcome To My Blue Sky
- Cab Ellis – Cab Ellis
- Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)
- Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
- Florence + The Machine – Everybody Scream
- Pacifica – In Your Face!
10) Sara Devoe – Come Away, O Human Child!
As a New York City indie scene lifer, I am often caught spreading the good gospel of local artists that I’ve had the immense honor of befriending. In a city brimming with so much talent, independent artists have released a wealth of LPs this year, and I wanted to dedicate my 10th slot to the many impressive outings made by New York’s up-and-comers. Out of the myriad options I could choose from, there is perhaps no better album more emblematic of a local talent having such striking, emotionally-affecting liftoff than alt-folk sensation Sara Devoe. Having had the great fortune of meeting Sara at a music scene mixer, I was put onto her lovely body of work, and have captured her in a live capacity as her band photographer. Her triumphant debut LP, Come Away, O Human Child! finds its name in reference to the great W.B. Yeats‘ “The Stolen Child.” Having had an online output as far back as 2020, this finalized collection of 10 tracks charts the lifespan of a past romance in stunning detail.
Be it the piano-plucked eponymous opener, her signature, string-strewn single, “Evil Genius,” or its pensive, acoustic follow-up, “A Secret/The Moon,” Devoe effortlessly captures the wistfulness of a true, blue lover girl. Alongside bandmate Mikey Leão, “Yearning Song” stands alone as an anthem for the heavy-hearted and forlorn. At the halfway point, personal favorite “Bruising Up A Peach” marks a sonic departure that sees a notable uptick in percussion and soulful chord progression. During her record release show at Nublu Classic, we spoke at length on the process that goes into ordering a tracklist, and she mentioned upfront that the midpoint demarcates an upward climb in intensity, reflected both in the instrumentation and the drama within. “Twin Flames” boasts a verse that simultaneously dishes the album’s most earworm-worthy and devastating lyrics: “But I lost a friend one time/ You remind me that I/Have just as much a right/To my life.” Elsewhere, “Cruel“‘s skittering, steady bassline and clenched teeth offer up some of the most immediate thrills available. Sara zeroes in on the generational challenge of being pioneers of online love with “Boys on Screens,” an ode to the video chat partners whom we ache to hold close IRL. Clocking in just over half an hour, Sara Devoe cements herself as a forward-thinking, one-of-a-kind talent whom I have been so grateful to witness blossom before me onstage.
9) Djo – The Crux (Deluxe)
From TV star to bonafide rock star? Stranger things have happened. With third LP, The Crux, Joe Keery rides the wave of TikTok fame into genuine, unadulterated rock bravado. Perhaps the most unapologetic display of wearing one’s influences on your sleeve, Djo pulls from the soundscapes of Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and U2, utilizing structural templates, but dispensing of any copied homework allegations, emerging always as a version of himself that sounds singular.
Having experienced his exemplary set at this summer’s All Things Go, this assemblage of songs is noticeably geared towards seamless translation in a live capacity. Patient opener “Lonesome is a State of Mind” takes a minute and a half ramping up to its drop and subsequent chorus, inviting backing vocals that up the intensity. Warbly lead single “Basic Being Basic” is for the ‘cheugy-phobes,’ openly lamenting the possibility of being seen as out-of-touch. The song winds up to a flashbang of a final verse that itemizes the list of possible guilty pleasures. “Link” is a major bright spot in the tracklist, sporting rollicking riffs and Djo’s most impassioned lilts. A cascading synth line accompanies arguably the best pre-chorus on the record before concluding with a feverish guitar solo. “Potion“‘s acoustic strumming gives way to one of the biggest earworms in Keery’s catalog: “I’ll try for all of my life/Just to find someone/Who leaves on the light/For meeee.” “Delete Ya” is an instant classic live fare addition, casting a spell on all within its immediate radius. “Charlie’s Garden” is the song that skews the most McCartney, right down to the title. It’s never been more fun to hear a man fail to count to thirty than on the rip-roaring “Gap Tooth Smile.” Angelic harmonizing kicks off “Back On You,” a heartwarming, full-bodied ode to the familial support of your own sisters.
And all of this before even mentioning that with the Deluxe version of the record, there are twelve more songs added to the tracklist. Spanning swaths of sonic palettes and genres, the additional dozen boasts some serious range – be it the Marc Bolan name-dropping “T.Rex is Loud,” the synth-heavy, autotune-centric “Mr. Mountebank” (which would sound right at home in the catalog of The Voidz), or the unpredictable “Purgatory Silverstar,” – the latter of which reinvents its sound every thirty seconds. However you slice it, with The Crux Deluxe, Joe Keery refuses to play it safe on the biggest stage possible.
8) Lorde – Virgin
The overwhelming pop power of 2024 made it such that many of last year’s worthiest hits were very much still dominating the charts. While ’25 fared as much more of a Hangover Year as far as Billboard’s Top 100 is concerned, I famously contested that Lorde’s “What Was That?” is the closest thing resembling The Song of The Summer. Ticking the checkboxes of being undeniable, ubiquitous, unforced, and unquestionably mainstream for the month of its release, Lorde’s lead single for her follow-up to 2021’s Solar Power truly set the tone for a summer smack-dab with some of the most globally turbulent weeks in recent memory. What’s more is that the premiere of this single famously happened in-person at Washington Square Park, where police presence halted the pop-up for several hours, but only added to the hype cycle for Virgin. Following that set, Lorde set the lyrically-aforementioned Baby’s All Right ablaze with a host of new tracks to prime the public. In its totality, the record tackles binaries head-on, doing away with simplistic views of gender identity; or, as she puts it on opener “Hammer,” “Some days I’m a woman/ Some days I’m a man.”
Daniel Nigro‘s sophisticated production lends each track a level of polish without necessarily feeling overly high-fidelity – the grit of New York City’s streets bursts through with lyricism that matches the grungy spirit of the famous Electric Lady Studio. “Shapeshifter” underlines the non-static nature of our ever-evolving sense of self: “I’ve been the siren, been the saint/I’ve been the fruit that leaves a stain/I’ve been up on the pedestal/But tonight I just wanna fall.” “Man of the Year“‘s nipple-taped likeness offers one of the most tender entries in Lorde’s canon. Underscoring a year in which art has squarely placed parental relationships under the microscope, Ella reckons with the ongoing tension of being under her own mother’s scrutiny on “Favorite Daughter.” The vocoder-layered “Clearblue” ruminates on the existential panic of a pregnancy scare, whereas “Broken Glass“‘ thumping club pulsations are better suited for the dancefloor. Lorde gets playful with her sampling on “If She Could See Me Now” directly invoking Baby Bash‘s 2003 classic, “Suga Suga.” Starting the record with “Hammer,” and ending on “David,” there is an intentional parallel to being carved (or carved out) – by romance, gender introspection, and familial happenings – just as Michaelangelo did with his famous marble statue. On the whole, while Virgin did capture the collective imagination for a moment in time, I am frankly surprised its reputation hasn’t endured the whole year long, much as these tracks might suggest. Arguably Lorde’s most self-reflective, transformative record yet.
7) The Last Dinner Party – From The Pyre
Hard to think that the overnight sensation of The Last Dinner Party burst onto the scene just last year with the excellent Prelude to Ecstasy. The London-based five piece has mastered their particular aesthetic blend of jangly pop-rock and frilled, puffy sleeves all over the world in the span of a matter of months, leading up to a new record cycle promising something even more…bewitching. Per lead singer Abigail Morris‘ description: “The Pyre itself is an allegorical place in which these tales originate, a place of violence and destruction but also regeneration, passion and light. The songs are character-driven but still deeply personal, a commonplace life event pushed to pathological extreme.” Each of the ten tracks plays out as a collection of protagonists undergoing their own transformation, adding to the tapestry of pain and growth. Opener “Agnus Dei” invokes the Latin phrase “Lamb of God,” referring to Jesus’ sacrifice; Abigail recontextualizes this offering in a romantic context – “All I can give you is your name in lights forever/ And ain’t that so much better/Than a ring on your finger?“
The snake-bitten “Count The Ways” under the microscope shares much DNA with the makeup of their debut record, but with a richer, more theatrical edge. Lead single “Second Best” is a certified barn burner, both in-studio and onstage; there’s something that so perfectly scratches my brain the way Morris wails the line “BABE! You know it ain’t FAIR!” Follow-up single “This Is The Killer Speaking” dons Georgia Davies‘ most hypnotic, medieval bassline, bursting into the daylight by the time of the chorus. Guitarist Lizzie Mayland lends the blood-soaked “Rifle” with tandem chanting, and a verse delivered in perfect French. “Woman Is A Tree” sets the tone with chilling harmonizing as though a chorus of witches during the trials of Salem. “Hold Your Anger” pays tribute to the thankless duties every woman is expected to perform by a regressive society – “Til the levee breaks/I don’t want to break,” Morris laments. Sailors, scythes, and funeral pyres crescendo towards a finale that marks another standout record by a band that continues to fine tune their sound.
6) Tyler, The Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS
Not dissimilar to Kendrick Lamar‘s late-game victory lap of a record, GNX, Tyler, The Creator’s DON’T TAP THE GLASS is born of the same DNA – an afterparty in the wake of career-best highs. Nobody expected to receive back-to-back offerings so immediately after the release of 2024’s Chromakopia, to the point where his most recent tour has been able to seamlessly choose from two eras of his own canon at his discretion. In a year defined onstage by a myriad of secret shows, Tyler’s impromptu DTTG pop-up show Under The K Bridge ranks among the most lively. Both onstage and in the record’s opening moments, Tyler lays down three core tenets: Body movement (no sitting still), only speak in glory (leave your baggage at home), and most importantly, DON’T TAP THE GLASS. The party-pumping Pharell feature (as Sk8brd), “Big Poe,” gets the metal ringing like a can top (pop), interpolating Shye Ben Tzur‘s “Roked,” as well as Busta Rhymes‘ “Pass The Courvoisier” to great effect.
Lead single “Sugar On My Tongue” is an urgent, accessible, instantly-danceable cut with enough raw potential to power an entire stadium. “Sucka Free” leaves its problems in the dust with pure ’90s West Coast throwback vibes that would feel right at home on The Estate Sale’s extended tracklist. The one-two punch of “Mommanem” into “Stop Playing With Me” clocks in at just a little over three minutes in a burst of high-energy cardio that pans from left to right in your headphones. “Ring Ring Ring” is more sophisticated in its presentation, dishing up landline romance, elevated by one of Tyler’s most winsome and earnest deliveries. The dueling sensibilities of the titular “Don’t Tap That Glass/Tweakin’” trades up its overconfident tracksuit for a $100 nosebleed, the latter of which sees Tyler in his most promiscuous mode (“I f-‘ed her and her friend/Her friend, her n-, his b-/I know I’m wrong“). Madison McFerrin‘s heavenly feature on “Don’t You Worry Baby” evokes the syrupy sweet RnB of the late ’90s, as does Yebba on “I’ll Take Care of You.” Closer “Tell Me What It Is” finds The Creator at his most vulnerable, unsure, and hungry-hearted, ending the whole record with the words “Why can’t I find love?” Clocking in at a runtime just under half an hour, Don’t Tap The Glass is one of the most replayable outings you’ll find all year.
5) Wet Leg – Moisturizer
The UK brain trust of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers burst onto the scene after a wave of instantly-catchy singles that culminated in 2022’s eponymous Wet Leg, a record that catapulted the group into immediate indie fame. Serving up a worthwhile sophomore outing, however, is what often determines a band’s staying power. Fortunately, with Moisturizer, Wet Leg has no time for laurel-resting. Coming out swinging with lead singles “CPR” and “Catch These Fists,” be sure to have 999 on standby for the violence that awaits. The tongue-in-cheek repeated mantra of “Is it love or suicide?” is backed with paramedics on standby, and a flurry of backseat guitar licks. “Liquidize” is the perfect sophomore track, bridging the most immediate moments of the tracklist with plainspoken tenderness (“I melt for you, I liquidize/I want you to want me all the time“). On the second of the lead singles, Rhian throws hands with any guy trying to sully her night out with the girls with cheesy pick-up lines (“Yeah, don’t approach me/ I just wanna dance with my friends“).
“Davina McCall” is a real change of pace, turning in an irrefutably compassionate, sleeve-hearted tune, featuring Teasdale’s most vulnerable vocal delivery yet. Absolute standout “Mangetout” is head and shoulders above the rest (its title a play on “man, get out,” and the French word for “eat all,” such as the magic beans that would allow an annoying man to grow up and go away), delivering the most irresistible build to a final verse, arguably on ANY track this year. “Pokémon” is the most straight-ahead pop cut with fluttering synths and steady strumming; it’s no wonder it boasts an incredibly catchy hook, given the globally-renowned monster catching series of the same name. “Pillow Talk” externalizes much of the romantic fervor present on the record as unabated horniness: “Every night I lick my pillow/ I wish I was licking you,” Rhian confesses in heat. “u and me at home” finds peace as a final summation, arriving at the warm comfort of a night in. From front-to-back, Moisturizer is a lovestruck evolution for Wet Leg that signals their pledged devotion to continue progressing their sound on their own terms.
4) David Byrne – Who Is The Sky?
Legendary Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has staked his entire career on occupying the liminal space between the weird and the mundane. On his ninth solo album, Who Is The Sky?, he pulls from a place of inner peace. Now 73, the artpop icon leans into the sentimentality of everyday encounters, and the love within the smallest of human exchanges. The record’s instrumentation is provided by the New York-based Ghost Train Orchestra, who joins him onstage for rowdy, uplifting live performances. Together, they recorded an absolutely resplendent set at the new underground Rough Trade location at Rockefeller Center to celebrate the release of the LP. Lead single “Everybody Laughs” is a jubilant, color-splashed romp of communal positivity and instrumentation: woodwind flourishes, plinky xylophone, upbeat percussion, and the vocal unity of an overwhelming chorus.
The thumping bassline of “When We Are Singing” is the bedrock atop which glorious strings shimmer. “My Apartment is My Friend” hearkens back to the days of More Songs About Food & Buildings, anthropomorphizing the inanimate, this time about how your home setting gets to experience you at all intervals of your life, the highs and the lows (“You, when no one understood me/ It’s a secret just we two/Between the walls and windows/ We’re connected, me and you“), crossing the finish line with a brilliant instrumental outro. With “What is The Reason For It?“, Byrne cashes in on the burgeoning working relationship he has stoked between himself and Paramore’s Hayley Williams, who recently offered her own vocal rendition of “Burning Down on the House” on the Stop Making Sense tribute album. As the fiery centerpiece of the record, its Southwestern rancho drum hits and twangy Spanish guitar are complemented by the astonishing vocal harmony of Byrne & Williams; one could practically imagine themselves salsa dancing amidst the desolate desert.
“I Met The Buddha At A Downtown Party” epitomizes the elevated, uncanny reality where such an encounter is deemed perfectly ordinary. From what the listener can discern, enlightenment is not all that it’s cracked up to be, so might as well partake in the spread of canapes. Single “The Avant Garde” stands as a personal mission statement for David as a devotee of the misunderstood and unconventional. “Moisturizing Thing” follows the absurdist tale of David’s encounter with anti-aging lotion that reverts him to a literal three-year old baby. “She Explains Things To Me” is a direct ode to the patience of his new wife, businesswoman Mala Gaonkar, whom he recently married this past September. In addition to the wedding news of his decade-long partner, he released an infamous dinner playlist that aims to solve the inability to focus on lyrics at such an occasion. Having reached a new chapter of his late life, Who Is The Sky? is emblematic of a famed artist’s continued pursuit of the profundity within the everyday.
3) The Kickback – Hit Piece
South Dakota via Chicago three piece The Kickback have been dormant since 2017’s sophomore effort, the divorce-spanning Weddings & Funerals. Well…that’s not entirely true. The trio have been steadily releasing one-offs and singles after another, with the aims of their efforts eventually culminating in a long-awaited third record. During said eight-year hiatus, frontman Billy Yost has been moonlighting as the most prolific underground beat maker and sampler under the moniker Billy Ghost. Guitarist Jonny Ifergan and Bassist Dan Leu are joined this time by Matt Walker (of The Smashing Pumpkins & Garbage fame) on percussion. Their ambitious 16 song tracklist elapses over the course of a 45-minute runtime, never once sagging in quality. This is made possible in part by Noam Wallenberg‘s flawless production, pivoting on a dime at encapsulating the sounds of fear, doubt, self-disgust, and true metanoia.
Opener “William Joel” is a sparse, lyrically-skeletal curtain call invoking the legendary Piano Man himself. What follows is a flood of feedback-soaked droning at the top of “Very Nice Time,” a scathing, fangs-bared flourish of resolute rock. “Lil Moby Dick” is fashioned of wistful seagazing and the daunting task of chasing your own White Whale; “How will I know when I caught him?/ Will anybody know that I caught him?” Yost muses to himself aloud on the hollow victory of achieving a single-minded goal. The economic fashion-savvy of “Hong Kong Suits” is anchored by a hook that translates exceedingly well in-studio as it does onstage. Sophomore single, “Hot Car,” is a skid-marked scorcher, proclaiming “HELL AIN’T HALF FULLLL!” out of the passenger seat window.
With a litany of downbeat and downtrodden moments to spare, the instances when The Kickback veer away from melancholic poetry and start punching up light a veritable fuse in the listener. Nowhere is that more self-evident than the brisk, yet-immensely thrilling “Take The Out,” the track that has most inspired full-bodied exorcism sessions in my bedroom; the song bridges the rock purist sensibilities of their earlier outings with the heavy-hearted lyricism of jaded adulthood, and it will punch your teeth in just under the two minute mark. Elsewhere, “God You Gotta Feel Alone” skews the most overtly post-punk/Midwest Emo the band has ever sounded, dialing up the mayhem to a wind tunnel intensity, yet remaining afloat with deeply human lyrics about isolation. “Rewrite Man” consequently follows suit with the heaviest instrumentation on the album, and a sinister sentiment about regret: “Deadweight and drunk today/Word count not allowed/Let margin calls remain/This world is not my own somehow.” “Pornography Search Terms That Match Your Exact Physical Description“, on top of being the wildest song title of the entire year, is a suitably dour downer ending, one that reflects on a world that continues to lose its physical connection as we limit our lives and intimacy to our time behind screens.
2) Bec Lauder & The Noise – The Vessel
I know, I know. I dedicated my #10 slot to an NYC artist that I felt embodied the spirit of the local scene, but some records provide such a stacked tracklist of tunes that they become essential to your daily listening. With The Vessel, underground superstar Bec Lauder – accompanied by the incomparable Maggie Bishop on drums, and the ceaselessly playful Soph Shreds on guitar – craft a sprawling world of urban decay and youthful catharsis. From her residency down below at Jean’s, or many an evening at Nightclub 101, Bec & co. are genuine trailblazers in the indie scene, putting on display a blend of raw talent, an unmatched instrumental discipline, and a provable work ethic. Such spirited energy refuses to go unnoticed, and having recently toured with alternative mainstays Cage The Elephant, the world is slated to receive a high-decibel dosage of The Noise. Bec’s lead vocals pack a stadium-filling punch, especially in intimate settings, but with their breakout LP, New York City is just the first stop on what’s bound to be a meteoric rise.
From the slick, sultry guitar lead on “Bent Up,” to the whisper-sung chorus build of “Give It,” Bec Lauder & The Noise come out the gate swinging. Immaculately paced all throughout, the spacey “Mysterious Boy” offers a reprieve just before jettisoning the listener onto the fame-studded streets on “Nobody Cares” – a standout single that always warrants a thunderous live crowd reaction. The spitfire temper of “You Want It All” boils over to the gratifying tune of dueling guitars. “Tease Me” serves as the record’s pitch perfect spiral center – a patient, enthralling encapsulation of everything the band has to offer whose crescendoing chorus daresay has the greatest replay value of the entire LP. This high-flying, sonically-diverse, expertly-paced collection of tracks makes its forty-five minute runtime fly by in the matter of a few mere blinks. Pound for pound, I have put in more sheer hours on my refurbished iPod with this debut outing than any other this year. The Vessel is without a doubt my go-to Anytime, Anywhere Record of 2025, and I can’t wait to see what frontiers the band will cross next.
1) Geese – Getting Killed
The date was September 18, 2021. A month ahead of the release of their now-debut record, Projector, (having nuked the online presence of the previous A Beautiful Memory from orbit) I huffed it over onto the LIRR to a seedy live music bar in Rockville Center called RJ Daniels. Not only did the collective of spunky nineteen year-olds prompt sweat and full-bodied, drunken dance movements from the 15 audience members in attendance, their performance left something hanging in the air – a palpable buzz, the youthful sting of something all music lovers chase – greatness. Having been thoroughly floored by their set, I approached the shaggy-haired frontman, Cameron Winter, debriefing with him about the importance of this very moment, before they burst onto the scene. I emphatically underlined the big picture of it all, leaving him with a gut reaction and a prediction: “You guys are going to be the new face of New York City Rock, I have no doubt.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Brooklyn’s own Geese are the singular most dominant name in the year of rock music. There is a mythology, a tapestry of artists that weave together the interconnected fabric of music history, especially in a city as deeply influential as NYC. And with their third studio album, Getting Killed, the seismic four-piece (five-piece if you include live mainstay keyboardist, Sam Rivas, and I very much do) kick the door right off its hinges. Opener “Trinidad” finds Winter lilting introspectively before igniting a fittingly explosive “THERE’S A BOMB IN MY CARRRRRRR!!!!” Be it with the snake-charming slinkiness of “Cobra,” or the bereaved hypotheticals of the immaculate “Husbands,” there is a notable step-up from the days of cowboy apocalyptica found on 3D Country. Whereas their sophomore record catapulted the band into steady indie fame, Getting Killed catapults them into the stratosphere. The title track’s seraphic, mutli-layered backing vocals float atop lead guitarist Emily Green‘s most angular, self-assured riffs yet, making for the stuff of an instant personal favorite.
“Islands of Men,” however, is existential, gender-affirming care in lyrical form; a pure, touching display of humanity in the face of societal pressure to conform to outdated binaries. “100 Horses” – a veritable mosh-pit sendup during their live shows – decries war propaganda from unchallenged authorities, boasting Dominic DiGesu‘s most stankface-inducing bassline. The lowkey, shimmering “Half-Real” is a moment to catch one’s breath while Cameron takes numeric inventory on the percentage of a love’s perceived authenticity. A massive standout in the tracklist, “Au Pays du Cocaine” made some serious noise this year with some of the most left-field lyrics that still manage to resonate in a way that feels genuine: “You can change/You can change/You can change/ You can change/Baby, you can change/ And still choose me” right into “Like a sailor in a big green coat/Like a sailor in a big green boat” denote two high water marks for the impact a twenty-three year-old artist has been able to imprint into the wider musical consciousness this year. Drummer Max Bassin goes to town on “Bow Down,” battering the listener with hi-hats until the culminating close-out guitar solo. Lead single “Taxes,” especially in the context of its placement in the record, becomes an ecstatic swearing-off of surrendering to the system. The ensuing drop, as experienced mid-moshpit at their history-making, street-level free show at Brooklyn’s Banker’s Anchor, is a generational call to arms. The dizzying closer, “Long Island City Here I Come,” serves to display the sheer synchronicity this unit has been able to foster over the course of three albums. It is an unrepentant, windswept finale, intent on bashing your brains in by its closing moments.
In the wake of the record’s massive critical success, and nigh-ubiquitous word-of-mouth campaign, Geese has truly and unmistakably hit The Big Leagues. Consequently, as we know to be the case with Newton’s Third Law, equal and opposite reactions are only natural. With the band’s prominent rise comes a flock of haters and don’t-get-the-hype chimers that find any excuse to vocalize their doubt. This is to be expected. Any time an artist breaches the containment of their insular genre sphere, and become the new, hot thing that everyone is talking about, there are bound to be reactions from people who were never going to like Geese to begin with. We’ve seen this time and again with the likes of Lou Reed, David Byrne, and Julian Casablancas, right down to the recent heights of Cameron Winter himself. His recent solo show at Carnegie Hall only adds to that mythology – turning away from the audience, being captured on film by the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and Benny Safdie, the set played more like a virtuosic piano meditation, one that brought many to tears. Idiosyncratic musicianship is not born of wide appeal. It stands to reason that Geese is not going to be for everyone. But. To those with primed ears, who have a honed insight at detecting greatness, what we are witnessing with this album is a moment in time that many twenty-somethings have only heard of through the grapevine; the opportunity of experiencing a generational act working their way up to the tippy top. To invoke the spirit of LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, for many, Geese presents the rare chance to say “I was there.” In many ways, Getting Killed is more than just a record – it is a triumphant declaration that the next Great Band has unquestionably arrived, and is here to stay. Rock and roll is back, baby. And the kids are indeed alright.
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